We are a non-profit organization focused on promoting, preserving, and being a strong, active resource for all things of heritage value on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia. Join us to learn about the history of Sea Island and its residents, past and present.
Newsletter
Boeing Aircraft Plant no. 3 on Sea Island
(City of Richmond Archives 1985 1992)
In 1929, Boeing began business operations in Canada and formed Boeing Aircraft of Canada. Its headquarters was located in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In 1939, Boeing Canada built a huge manufacturing plant on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, for the World War II war effort. Boeing Plant No. 3 was located beside the middle arm of the Fraser River. When first opened, the plant employed 175 people and had a payroll of $300,000 per year.
In 1942, production of the twin engine-PBY Consolidated amphibian aircraft was pushed ahead at Boeing Plant No. 3. Plant No. 4 was built six months later directly off the east end of Plant No. 3 and served as an overhaul shop. The Sea Island plant built PBY Catalina Aircraft for off-shore air patrols, and the middle section of the B-29.
The first amphibian PBY came off the assembly line in February 1942. There was a dedication ceremony held in front of Boeing Plant No. 3 for the launch of the PBY. The RCAF called the PBY’s “Cansos”, and this first PBY was christened as RCAF Canso 9751.
Dedication ceremony of the first PBY Catalina produced at Sea Island Boeing Plant No. 3, RCAF Canso 9751
(CVA 1184-1195 Vancouver Archives)
Boeing Canada built 362 PBY flying boats and amphibians designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego. They also built 16 British-designed Blackburn Shark torpedo aircraft purchased by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
RCAF Boeing Canso 5A aircraft
(Shearwater Aviation Museum)
Boeing Canada produced 55 PBY-5A “Canso” amphibians for the RCAF and 300 PBY-5 and PBY-6 Catalina Flying Boats under the US Navy designation of PB2B-1 and PB2B-2 for the US Navy and the British Empire. Boeing employees received awards in a company-sponsored contest to name the last PBY to roll off the Sea Island assembly line. The last batches of PBY Catalinas built by Boeing (40 PB2B-1 and 67 PB2B-2) totalled 107. JZ841 was the last with number 107 on the cowling.
Boeing B-29 Bomber aircraft in flight
(Wikipedia)
By 1944, the production of the PBY Flying Boats was completed and Boeing Canada began manufacturing the mid-section of the fuselage, including the bomb bay area for the Superfortress (B-29) bomber. The payloads were trucked to Renton, Washington in the US and matched to other pre-built sections for final assembly. In the CBC video titled Women build airplanes at Vancouver Boeing Plant in 1945, we can see some of the mid-section of the Superfortress being built.
In 1945, at its peak, the Sea Island Boeing Canada plant had 7,000 employees. Immediately after the surrender of the Empire of Japan (V-J Day) on August 14, 1945, Boeing closed the Sea Island plant. This sudden closure left stunned workers scrambling to find work.
The Boeing Plant No. 4 at the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport is the one survivor of two built by Boeing Canada on Sea Island during World War II. It is located at 5400 Airport Road South, and is now owned by the Federal Government.
In 1960, the building began operating as Trans Canada Airlines; in 1981, it became Pacific Western Airlines’ maintenance base. Between 1988 and 2005, it had been leased to Com Air.
